Things for me since returning home from the Philippines have been a bit weird. All of my life, all I have known has been busy, busy, busy. It has been a constant full schedule of tests, ballgames, projects, church activities, social events, etc. I have known no rest. However, as many of you are aware of, my plans of online classes this semester didn't work out. It wasn't the Lord's plan for me, and though it was disappointing to me, I know the Lord's dreams and plans for me are much greater than the ones I have for myself. Knowing that, I am content with my current place in life; however, I am ready for the next chapter. Many believe I should have come home from the Philippines, and got a job. But, let's be real...who is going to hire someone who is only home for a couple of months before leaving again? No one. So that has left me with being a....stay at home daughter. Don't hear that title too often do you? Many have told me things such as, "You have it made." or "I wish I were you." Do you really? I mean yes it is nice to sleep in just because I want. It's nice to have the TV all to myself all day, to eat whenever I please, and to take long baths because no one else is home to save the warm water for. Before you get too envious of me, let me just tell you...After a while, sleeping in is a drag, TV has nothing interesting on, and eating whenever = weight gain. I feel like I am going stir crazy. I am not a fan of routine (even though I do enjoy my coffee dates with Dr. Phil & Oprah every morning). I like to change things up. Thankfully, I have a very dear friend, who just so happens to also be my pastor, who has been very good about keeping me busy lately.
With the summer Philippine trip coming up in just a couple of months, we have had many fundraisers going on lately. We have been selling Mothers Day roses (which I highly recommend for any of you trying to raise money), we sold hamburgers at a fishing tournament, and we have been selling plate lunches once a month at church. We still have a couple more plate lunches to go, and we are trying to come up with a t-shirt to sell. I will get you details on the t-shirt as soon as I can. If you have any ideas of more fundraisers I would love for you to share. Okay, back to what has recently kept me busy...Along with the fundraisers has been little things I have been drafted to do for church, and my church family. I have enjoyed it.
After Sir Bob's meeting with the Filipino pastors in April, the final details for our summer trip have been made. The Mississippi team, aka "the rope people," will be made up of eight Americans. Four men, four women. We will be located in Southern Leyte. In 2009, our team of Mississippians was located in Northern Samar. We had such a wonderful team, and made comments of how we wished that we could have that exact group of pastors back with us once again. We also knew that the possibility of that was slim. However, God answered our prayers, and the pastors who we will be serving alongside us this year will be exactly the same as 2009, with the exception of one pastor who will not be there. The Filipino pastors who will be our translators, encouragers, and most importantly, our friends, will be Steve (a very dear friend to me), Ruel (our own personal shopper), Felipe (the pregnant man with a great laugh), and Primo (who loves to feed us flowers). I am very excited about this team. I ask that you would please begin to lift us up in your prayers. Pray that God would begin to work in the hearts of those who we will share the gospel with July 16-July 30.
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| In green- Southern Leyte |
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| Left to right: Primo,myself, Steve Ruel, Felipe, Ruel(who will not be joining us) |
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| Molly eating one of the flowers Primo got for us...she will greatly be missed this year :( "Eat 24 a day, and you have all of the nutrients you need"- Primo  |
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| Left to right: Angela, Lane, Ruel, Me Anytime us girls decided we wanted to hit up the market, Ruel was our guy!  Angela won't be joining us this year for the trip. She is the best roomie ever. I will miss her tons!  |
It has been two months since I have been away from my loves at Uncle Dick's Home. Although, I never believed it would happen, the hurt of not being with them has gotten better. My homecoming was very sweet. I was so very happy to see my family and friends; however, it was very bittersweet. While it was great to see my biological family, I missed my sweet Filipino family greatly. I never really let it be known, but it was an adjustment for me. For over a month I was surrounded by these precious kids, who literally became my family, and then all of the sudden, I'm back in my home, my family is at work and school, and I am at home....alone. I was lonely. I hadn't had time all alone to myself in over six weeks. It was very strange. I would look at the clock, and my mind immediately went to what the orphans were doing. I think it was a normal process. I learned to take my free time and use it to reflect on the things the Lord had done for me, and taught me during my stay at Uncle Dicks Home. My free time has become my quiet time. My time to spend with my Father. Now, I think about my babies often, but I know that whatever they are doing they are very happy and loved. And in those moments when I want nothing more than to have a great UDH hug, I ask the Lord to let them know I am thinking about them. I have great peace now, and find joy in reflecting on the time I got to spend with those precious people, rather than the sadness of going months without seeing them.
I believe I have blogged enough tonight to make up for the weeks I have been silent. I promise to try and be better about sharing. Oh, and if you're wondering about the title...go watch "Eat, Pray, Love!"
With love,
Emily
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